Currently Reading

Currently reading: Vulture by Bex Hogan.

Sunday, 28 August 2011

In My Postbox #44

In My Mailbox idea from Kristi @ The Story Siren, and all links take you to Amazon UK.

Hi guys! It's been a crazy few weeks here at EoB towers! Work as per usual seem as intent to take all my time and more as it is and then I've had some computer troubles with my trusty laptop's screen breaking and needing to be replaced. Oh well. It's all behind me now. So here is a bumper In My Postbox, one that takes a couple of weeks books into account. I got 5 of these on one day alone so have had a good few weeks bookwise at least!

N.B, I do know that the Summer Reads feature is SERIOUSLY late... And again this is due to lack of computer and time. I'm going to work on getting the late posts up over the next few days and will link them on Twitter as and when they are live. Some reviews will also be going live over the next few days hopefully! ANYWAY... back to In My Postbox!

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FOR REVIEW:

Words In The Dust by Trent Reedy.
Soul Beach by Kate Harrison.
Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts (I love this cover, the faces in the crack down the centre are so cool and creepy!).
Shelter by Harlan Coben (this sounds and looks soooooo good! :D)
Fury by Elizabeth Miles.
No Use Crying by Zannah Kearns.
Wired by Robin Wasserman.
Naked by Kevin Brooks (THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD! Cannot wait to read!).
Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry (I've not read the first book but this looks amazing so really must get Rot and Ruin so I can get around to this!!).
Angel Fire (sampler) by L. A. Weatherly (YAY! Been looking forward to this since I read Angel last year. This is only the prologue but still, its helping to pass the wait. And I'm quoted in it! :D)



BOUGHT:

Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver (Massive Michelle fan and I wanted to see what the new cover look was like so I decided to get this to add to my collection. Not as nice as the original cave painting artwork, but still pretty cool!
Witchfinder: The Last Nightfall by William Hussey (I adored the first two books in the trilogy, Dawn of the Demontide and Gallows at Twilight - which reminds me I need to get my review for that one up... - and cannot wait to get started on this one. How amazing is the cover?!).


So for another week, that's it. Happy reading guys!

Cover Art for Lani Taylor's A DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE

Now regular readers will know that a few months back, publisher Hodder and Stroughton had a little viral campaign to get bloggers excited about the release of a new book. Over the course of a few weeks, we were sent three little postcards, one at a time in a pure black envelope. They had a picture on the front - a moustache on one, a tooth and another, and a feather on the third. And then we got the proof of the book. The book is at the very top of my reading pile, meaning it's up next so I cannot wait! It's out on 29th September and below is the cover art (yes other bloggers have posted this already and yes I'm late - sorry - but that is again due to time and computer issues. Anyway, without further ado, the lovely cover! Cannot wait to see it in the flesh!

(click to enlarge)

News: Title and Cover Art for Time Riders Number 5!

Now I read the first three books of this series earlier this year and have book four sitting on my reading pile, a review of the first book, Time Riders can be found here... and the reviews for Book Two and Three are on their way along with those of about 15 books. I'm not even going to get into why they're all waiting, that's not the point of this post... This however is... the cover art of Book Five of the Time Riders series! It's called GATES OF ROME and looks like this...


Amazing. Enough said. And it sounds like this:
Project Exodus - a mission to transport 300 Americans from 2070 to 54AD to overthrow the Roman Empire - has gone catastrophically wrong. Half have arrived seventeen years earlier, during the reign of Caligula. Liam goes to investigate, but when Maddy and Sal attempt to flee a kill-squad sent to hunt down their field office, all of the TimeRiders become trapped in the Roman past. Armed with knowledge of the future, Caligula is now more powerful than ever. But with the office unmanned - and under threat - how will the TimeRiders make it back to 2001 and put history right? 
Excellent. Can't wait. It's out February 2012!

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

News: Title and Cover Art Released for Department 19 2!!

Now I know that my review for Department 19 by Will Hill is missing right now, but it is in the process and I really must get it up on here. It's on my to do list! Anyway, I loved the book and have been waiting for news on the second book ever since I finished reading the beautiful proof copy late last year... Anyway, the second book now has a name and a COVER!!! :D

Department 19: The Rising is out next April and it looks a little something like this...



Awesome right? Cannot wait!!! Bravo to the HarperCollins design team who have done themselves a real justice with this cover! I like that it doesn't look to different from the first book, there'll be no mistaking that this is a series. I like that they've changed the weapons up though to give it a better feel. Maybe a hint of the time period or the time some big baddie is from? Who knows! All will be revealed soon though! Head on over to http://www.facebook.com/department19exists to check out a short video of Mr. Hill himself talking about the book, the title and what it may refer to! 

Sunday, 7 August 2011

Doc Mortis Tour: My Biggest Fear By Barry Hutchison and Doc Mortis Review!

Well, the day has finally arrived! Mr Barry Hutchison (got your name right first time this time Barry! ;)) is stopping by for a delightful piece about his fear here on EoB as part of the Doc Mortis Blog Tour - a 2 week long fest of blood, guts and Invisible Fiends!!! The book, Doc Mortis came out this week and you can check out my review below, but before that, a wonderful piece by Barry about his biggest fears...


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My Biggest Fear by Barry Hutchison


When I was a kid, I was scared of most things. Dogs. Cats. Birds. Goldfish. Confined spaces. Wide open spaces. You name it, I was scared of it.

Now that I’m older, I’m happy to report that I’ve managed to conquer most of the irrational fears I had during childhood.

Most.

But not all.

When I was seven-years-old I found a squirrel lying on a path in a park. It was a dead squirrel. I knew it was dead because of the way it was slumped on the concrete. And because its intestines had exploded out through its eyes.

Something had happened to that squirrel. Something terrible. My first thought was “aww, that’s a shame”, and for most people that would be the end of it. They’d step past the tangled mess of fur and innards and carry on with their day.

Not me, though. Not seven-year-old me.

The problem I had, and the reason I was so afraid of so many things, was that I had a very overactive imagination. Whenever I heard a noise from somewhere in my house, it wasn’t the wind, it was a murderer, intent on killing my family.

When friends tried to get me to climb fences I refused because, I believed, I would fall and shatter my spine. Or tear a leg off. Or somehow lose an eye.

And when I looked down at the gooey remains of that squirrel, I didn’t just think “aww, that’s a shame”, I also thought “WHAT IF IT COMES BACK TO LIFE?!?”.

I ran then, my head filled with visions of this… this… zombie squirrel coming back from the dead and hurling itself at my face in a frenzy of teeth and claws and exposed digestive tract. My heart began to race, sweat began pouring from my skin and – yes – I believe I started to cry, so vivid was this image of the undead squirrel attack.

Fortunately, squirrels are easy to avoid (dead ones are even easier) and I’ve managed to go through the two and a half decades since then without really encountering too many of them.

All that changed last year, when I stepped out of my house to take my son to school one morning, only to find this thing clinging to the wall:


In case you can’t see the picture, allow me to explain. IT’S A GHOSTLY WHITE SQUIRREL WITH DEMONIC RED EYES!

A ghostly white squirrel with demonic red eyes that appeared to be staring deep into my very soul. I managed to snap that photograph, before bundling my son into the car and driving away with tyres
screeching. When I got home, the squirrel was gone, although it reappeared several more times over the next few months, often brandishing a gun*.

But my main concern wasn’t the freaky Albino squirrel. My main concern was how the freaky Albino squirrel ended up at my house. I’ve done research, and there are only an estimated 25 Albino squirrels in the whole of the UK. How many grown men have a squirrel phobia? Probably half that amount, tops.

So, I refuse to believe that it’s coincidence that the thing tracked me down. I reckon the other squirrels got together and planned the whole thing. Maybe this one is just painted white with contacts in, I don’t know, but I think there was motive behind it. The squirrels plotted the whole thing, just to wind me up and make it impossible for me to leave the house for the next six months without ducking and covering my head with my hands.

Because they do that, squirrels.

The gits.


*this is a lie

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Brilliant. Thanks Barry! Now time for me to do my bit...

Written by: Barry Hutchison.
Published by: HarperCollins.
Format: Paperback.
Released: 4th August 2011.
Rating: 4.5/5.



Official synopsis: "Kyle wakes up in hospital – which is strange, because he doesn't remember being ill. And that's not all. He's also deliriously flitting in and out of the Darkest Corners, and in the shadow version of the hospital the surfaces aren't clean, and the sharp instruments aren't used for healing. It's Kyle's most terrifying experience yet, and it's about to get much, much worse. The doctor will see him now…"

Despite owning the first book in the Invisible Fiends series, Mr. Mumbles, I've never gotten around to reading the series for one reason or another and decided not too long ago that I would aim to get all four books that'd be out by the end of this year and read them in one go, if not sooner then over the Christmas break when it'll be pants tv and the hours start to drag as everyone else sleep the days away... but then I got the chance to take part in this blog tour and it just seemed the perfect opportunity to get into the series.

I decided that I'd read the book of it's own merit rather than read the first three books first. I loved the sound of this one, even more so than the previous novels in the series and the cover is simply amazing and creepy, I just had to. Eventually, I read the book in one sitting on a day off from work. And what a day it was. The feelings I went through when reading this book. Horror, sadness, revulsion, compasion... and there was the odd laugh or two. Barry blends the horror with the humor perfectly. Just when your stomach feels all funny and gurgly with the blood, guts and gore, you have a little chuckle and all is well again, only for that sickening yet addictive feeling to build again.

The characters are well rounded and really seem to complement one another. Doc Mortis himself has to be one of the creepiest characters I've ever come across. As someone who actually does have a bit of a fear of doctors and hospitals... anything medical in general this book really touched a nerve. Let's just say that I am put off going to my GP for any ailments at the moment for the very foreseeable future. The fact that one of my doctors actually does look a bit like Doc Mortis, although a thinner version doesn't help. Thanks Barry, thank you very much!

I have to say that the book more than surpassed my expectations for the series and I really am looking forward to reading the other books already out and of course continuing with the series. With the publication of The Beast early next year, I better get a move on in anticipation. I'd also really like some kind of TV/movie adaptation for these books. There's a real cinematic feel in your head when reading the book and I'd love to actually see it with my own eyes, rather than my minds eye. But until such an adaption might happen, I will just have to imagine extra hard the gore that is still to come!

My thanks to Barry for such a cracking read and for stopping by today, it's been an honour! And to the lovely folk at HarperCollins for my copy of the book!